Merida Tours and Trips

The trip was as described in the brochure and was an excellent introduction to the food of Mexico and some of the archaeological sites. The guide Yves was extremely knowledgeable and a great story teller. His local knowledge was invaluable in spotting opportunities as they arose, and also in solving any difficulties. We were a group of 15 with a driver and a guide and were originally put in an 18 seater minibus. As some of the driving days were many hours long, we requested a larger and more comfortable bus and this was arranged. As some of the trips turned out to be even longer than planned, due to roadworks and unavoidable detours, this was an essential upgrade. One of the hotels, rated as premium, had, unbeknownst to either Explore or the local tour operator, had moved us to a much more basic accommodation. It was disappointing but Explore dealt with it in a very timely manner by refunding the cost of the two nights. Mistakes do happen but dealing with them is the mark of a good company. The group was mixed with some couples and some singles. I travelled on my own but there was always company for meals if I wanted it.

Luis Flores is a tremendous guide with lots of knowledge and great historical context but also a very pleasant character and cheerful personality. He took us to some wonderful local restaurants, and organised excellent optional activities. We loved the wide range of activities in the itinerary... Spectacular ruins but also cenotes, boat trips, church visits etc. The highlight was definitely the visit to the cemetery for Dia Des Muertos in Oaxaca. We have already recommended this trip to many friends and will continue to do so! Well done and thank you for adding these memories to our life.

An excellent opportunity to explore many of the archeological sites in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize under the guidance of our extremely knowledgeable and charismatic tour guide Ana. This is a ‘full on’ tour, with some very long drives, but well worth it. There is a fair amount of walking, as well as climbing at many of the sites, and a good level of fitness is needed, particularly in view of the hot, sunny and humid days that we experienced on many days. We booked our trip to coincide with ‘Day of the dead’ celebrations in Oaxaca, which was an amazing experience. Accommodation generally poor, and not to Explore’s normal standards. All in all, a great 3 week trip.

We had an adventurous week in Yucatan with history and culture lessons woven in throughout. The guides and the group were fantastic. The hostels were pretty good, but great for the price. The travel was completely stress-free. I plan to use G-Adventures again in the future.

This trip gave an overall exposure from rural to city life, from oceans and beaches to jungles. I loved the way this trap itinerary is planned, not a lot of travel time from one place to another and great locations selected. The locations of accommodations were great, very near to everything you want. The CEO was very approachable. I had a great fun and fulfilling experience. Highly recommended!!!

This is a tour of archeological sites mixed with typical mexican dishes and exploration of Mexican Landscapes and sometimes even birdlife. We began in Mexico City - where I would recommend to arrive 1-2 days early Try to book tickets for night performance at Palacio de Bellas artes & if you like Frida Kahlo. Coyoacan itself was very turisty - too crowded (did not like that so much). We loved the new feature -the excellent Jamaica Market in Mexico City - which is an amazing food- flower - fruit market. Some of the rides between Mexico City- Puebla-Oaxaca- Chiapas- San Cristobal-Palenque-Campeche and Merida can be rather long - around 5-6 hours in a bumby buss, so although the pace is moderate be aware that you are driving long distances. We loved Puebla - an old colonial spanish city, Oaxaca - nice colorfull - the sumidiero canyon (amazing boat ride along grand canyon like landscape). Of course the archeological sites are great and impressive (I liked Palenque). The food is a majority of meat but you do get to sample a lot of different foods - fruit & fish included, some I liked and some were not to my taste (but all good quality). The cooking class was great. The good part is that all breakfast is included and some of the lunches or diners too. Don't expect much of the swimming pools - they are rather small. The last day we went to swim in a cenote - which was awesome - a sort of sinkhole. Our tourleader gave us detailed explanations about archeology - he has a university degree in this. The advantage of this tour is that you get to stay in some places for 2-3 nights so this makes the tour more relaxing than others. There are no beach opportunities, unless you go the last days to Cancun. I would definately recommend this tour as I think the combination of food - markets and archeology is more varied and offers a more interesting perspective than only the archeology.